Metro Pacific expands hospital chain

Businessman Manuel V. Pangilinan-led Metro Pacific group has added a 14th hospital in its nationwide healthcare chain with the acquisition of a majority stake in 248-bed St. Elizabeth Hospital in General Santos City.

In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange yesterday, infrastructure holding firm Metro Pacific Investments Corp. said its hospital arm, Metro Pacific Hospital Holdings Inc. (MPHHI), had bought 54 percent of St. Elizabeth Hospital Inc. (SEHI) from the Veneracion family.

The deal involved 108,350 shares priced at P1,642.04 per share or a total of P177.91 million.

In the disclosure, MPHHI said it might infuse additional capital into SEHI in the future to expand and improve its facilities and to purchase the latest medical equipment for the hospital. It also stated intention to increase its ownership to 80 percent.

Located along Santiago Boulevard corner National Highway in General Santos City, the hospital traces its roots to 1962 when Dr. Jesus Veneracion Sr., fresh from his post-graduate training in General Surgery in St. Elizabeth Hospital in Chicago, Illinois, started a 25-bed hospital, the first in this area which was then called Dadiangas.

The hospital has since then expanded and upgraded its service capabilities. It was the first healthcare institution in the region to be ISO 9001:2008 certified.

“Our family is very pleased and excited to partner with MPHHI, the largest private hospital group in the country, and we welcome the Metro Pacific Group to General Santos City,” said Antonio Veneracion, spokesperson for the Veneracion family. —DORIS DUMLAO-ABADILLA